It’s a homecoming. It’s a musical soiree. For classical music fans, it’s not to be missed.
A free concert featuring two of London’s top young violinists and one of our region’s most beloved pianists is set for Saturday evening at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood.
Matthew Norriss and Natalia Wierzbicka, students at the Trinity Conservatoire of Music in London, England, and Rick Asher, a former music teacher at Mountlake Terrace High School and a retired Edmonds Community College dean, will perform an eclectic mix of works by Bartok, Bellini, Shostakovich and more.
Included in the “more” will be compositions by Asher, including a few sung by Norriss.
OK, that’s the music, but what’s the homecoming about?
Norriss’ mother is Lori Green Norriss, a 1975 graduate of Mountlake Terrace High and former student of Asher’s and of Roberta McBride, the longtime leader of the Cascade Symphony Orchestra viola section. Lori Norriss will perform a finale number with the group, using McBride’s viola.
After graduating from Terrace, Green attended the University of Washington, then transferred to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She never moved back. Lori married Peter Norriss, then a violist in the London Symphony Orchestra, and she has worked professionally in numerous orchestras and as a highly respected school music teacher.
In his final year of high school, son Matthew Norriss was the concertmaster of the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and was accepted to study at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he met Wierzbicka. They formed the Mattalia Duo, and now perform professionally on the side.
The Norrisses visit the Seattle area nearly annually, but this will be the first public concert by Matthew here on his mum’s home turf.
“We are excited for this concert and thrilled to hear some of Rick’s new songs,” Lori Norriss said. “This concert is a testament to the influence of my music teachers and their guidance, which stays with me and has been passed down to my son.”
Mattalia Duo and Rick Asher
The free concert begins at 7 p.m. Aug. 19 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 6215 196th St. SW, Lynnwood.
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